How well do you know the names of animal congregations? Sure, most of know about a herd of elephants, colony of ants, or even a murder of crows. You might even know that lions travel in a pride or that porcupines move in a prickle.
But did you know that a group of sparrows is a host, flies move in a business, and a collective of apes is a shrewdness? You’ve heard of a flock of seagulls but a flock of lice? (GROSS!)
I sure didn’t until stumbling across a neat little resource about the names of animal groups. Whether you’re a trivia wonk, crossword warrior, or writer like me, these tidbits are sure to come in handy.
COMPLETE LIST OF ANIMAL GROUP NAMES
Some of these groupings are funny. My favorites include:
- A bloat of hippopotamuses
- A tower of giraffes
- A wisdom of wombats
- A pitying of turtle doves
- A parliament of owls
- A leap of leopard
- A convocation of eagles
- A kettle of hawks
It would be cool to see some artwork of a troop of kangaroos, a dazzle of zebras, or a congress of salamanders. That last one would make you think twice about “Newt” Gingrich.
Now I’ll just have to figure out how to work a tribe of goats or a deceit of lapwings into my next novel. Just as soon as I figure out what a lapwing is.
Which of these animal grouping names do you like best?
